M1 (76 mm)

This page is about the American tank cannon M1 (76 mm). For other uses, see M1 (Disambiguation).

The 76 mm M1 on the M4A1 (76) W gun mantlet.

Description

The 76 mm M1 is a high velocity gun developed by the United States during World War II. Intended to provide the M4 Sherman an increase in firepower to counter the increasing number of heavily armoured German tanks.The M1 in game is a very effective gun, with average penetration and high post-penetration damage with the filler round. However, the vehicles it is mounted to can face tanks such as the Panther, Tiger I and Tiger II, which can prove to be difficult targets from a frontal encounter.

General info

The 76 mm M1 is a very capable cannon and can disable or outright destroy most vehicles it can encounter in one shot. It is an ideal armament for mid-rank medium tanks and tank destroyers. For some heavily armoured vehicles, the user may have to aim for weak points and go for side shots, for which most armour plates can be easily pierced.

Available ammunition

The 76 mm M1 has five shell types available:

• The M79 shot comes stock with all tanks equipped with the 76 mm M1, and penetrates 134 mm of armour at 90° from 10 m away. It also has no high explosive filler. This shell is inferior in most aspects compared to the M62 shell, and should be replaced by the M62 as soon as available.
• The cannon also comes stock with the M42A1 high explosive shell, which has 390 grams of TNT, but is only effective on very lightly armoured vehicles and should not be used in the majority of cases.
• The M62 shell is unlocked as a tier II modification, and is the primary shell players will want to use. It has decent penetration for its rank, punching through 149 mm at 90° at point blank range, and a good amount of explosive filler: the equivalent of 63.7 grams of TNT. This shell will result in the ability to destroy enemy tanks with one successful penetration, but more spacious tanks will require more careful shot placement.
• The M93 APCR shot has 190 mm of penetration against 90° armour from 10 m away, but is ineffective against sloped armour.
• The M88 Smoke Shell is a very handy munition and can be used for concealment or to blind opponents.

Shells such as the M62 shell, M93 APCR, and M88 Smoke Shell are available as modifications.

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
		10 m	100 m	500 m	1,000 m	1,500 m	2,000 m
M79 shot	AP	134	132	121	109	99	89
M42A1 shell	HE	16	16	14	13	11	10
M62 shell	APCBC	149	146	133	119	106	94
M93 shot	APCR	190	186	167	146	128	112

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (g)	Ricochet
							0%	50%	100%
M79 shot	AP	792	6.8	-	-	-	47°	60°	65°
M42A1 shell	HE	823	5.84	0.2	0.1	390	79°	80°	81°
M62 shell	APCBC	792	7	1.2	14	63.7	48°	63°	71°
M93 shot	APCR	1,036	4.22	-	-	-	66°	70°	72°

Smoke shell characteristics
Ammunition	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile mass (kg)	Screen radius (m)	Screen deploy time (s)	Screen hold time (s)	Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (g)
M88	274	3.44	13	5	20	50

Comparison with analogues

The 76 mm M1 is roughly equivalent in overall capability to the German KwK40 L48 (75 mm) or the Soviet 85 mm D-5T and 85 mm ZIS-S-53 cannons. The 76 mm M1 has a penetration power similar to these cannons, with the Soviet 85 mm have better penetration against sloped armour. The KwK40 is sported by vehicles at a lower BR so it face lesser armoured opponents. However, the 76 mm M1 gets access to a stabiliser in most iterations (except for M18s and the M64) and can use smoke shells unlike the Soviet 85 mm guns.

Usage in battles

The 76 mm M1 is very capable for its rank and in battle it can be used to great effect. The cannon has great knock-out potential with a single shot when using the M62 shell. It is ideal for flanking, using the good penetration and post-penetration damage to get around opponent's heavy front armour and hit them in their weaker side and rear armour.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Decent penetrative qualities
• Very good post-penetration damage
• Relatively short reload

Cons:

• Heavily armoured targets requires aiming for weak spots or manoeuvring around to hit the side armour

History

Development

During the inter-war period, the Americans had access to the 3-inch Gun M1918 anti-aircraft gun in their inventory that fired a high-velocity 76.2 mm shell. In September 1940, it was decided to adapt the gun into an anti-tank role. Though the adaption was a success with a towed variant and mounted on the M10 tank destroyer, it was too heavy and cumbersome for a medium tank mount. Sometime in 1942, the development of a new gun to replace the 75 mm on the M4 Sherman's mount began as the 76 mm Gun T1. It should be noted that despite the name, it has the same exact bore as 3-inch (76.2 mm) and is only named such to avoid ammo compatibility error between the 3-inch and the 76 mm. The developed 76 mm used a barrel lighter than the 3-inch, had the breech ring assembly of the 75 mm, and could be mounted in the Sherman's M34 mount. The gun used the same projectiles as that of the 3-inch, but a different propellant case design with enough powder to fire a round at 2,600 ft/sec muzzle velocity, identical to the 3-inch gun.

A M4A1 testing out a 76 mm T1 gun in its original turret.

Two 76 mm T1 guns were made and shipped to Aberdeen Proving Grounds. Tests started on 01 August 1942, with one gun put on a fixed mount while the other was installed in a M4A1 turret in place of the 75 mm. Initial tests showed that the gun, 57 calibre in length, was too unbalanced. 15 inches were shaved off from the gun barrel, turning the barrel length to 52 calibre to the detriment of the anti-armour performance. Additionally, weight was added to the breech ring as a counter-weight. On August 17, Aberdeen stated the 76 mm was satisfactory inside the M4 Sherman turret. Classified as Substitute Standard, the 76 mm T1 was approved as the 76 mm Gun M1 and it was recommended that the production orders for Shermans be modified for 1,000 Shermans with the new 76 mm gun. However, General Jacob Devers from Armored Force did not approve of this plan as the new tanks had not been tested by his board. This led to another trial period, with the 76 mm tried in the newer M34A1 gun mount using the telescopic sight, the response to the Sherman's combat experience in North Africa. The same imbalance issue as previous tests arose, but this was solved by adding an 800 pound counterweight to the rear of the turret to counterbalance the barrel. Production of the tank started with 12 tanks from the Pressed Steel Car Company for evaluation by Aberdeen, Armored Board, and Tank Destroyer Board. These tanks arrived on 2 February 1943 and tests lasted until April 5th. The conclusion was that the Armored Board found the constrained space in the turret, caused by the larger gun, unsatisfactory and that the tank was a rushed "quick-fix" design and rejected the tank. This cancelled the type classification and brought the 76 mm tank procurement to a halt.

Ordnance continued to tinker about with their designs and on 03 May 1943, recommended the production of two pilots of an improved 76 mm gun mount for the Sherman. These vehicles were designated as the M4E6 and were fitted with turrets from the T23, a variant of the T20 tank series. Meanwhile, the 76 mm gun was also improved into the M1A1 variant with changes to the tube contour and a lengthened recoil surface to allow the trunnions to be moved forwards for better balancing of the weapon. The two M4E6 were built by Chrysler, with one sent for evaluations at Aberdeen in July 1943 before being sent to Fort Knox for Armored Board to take a look. The tests proved satisfactory and on 17 August 1943, Armored Board recommended the M4E6 be put into full production for 1,000 units, with even the possibility of completely replacing the 75 mm production with the 76 mm. The latter however was contested by General Alvan Gillem, who took over Devers role in May 1943, by stating the 76 mm's flaw of a lower HE charge compared to the 75 mm (76 mm's 12.37 lbs HE shell carries only 0.86 lbs explosives whereas the 75 mm's 14.6 lbs shell carries 1.47 lbs explosives) and its tendency to create dust clouds with its muzzle blast, all for only 1 more inch of armour penetration compared to the 75 mm.

Still, 76 mm production was still in consideration and further improvements were made to the gun. The issue with the muzzle blast was solved with a new long primer ammunition that reduced the smoke left from the burning powder and the installment of a muzzle brake on the gun that diverted the muzzle blast sideways so it does not disturb the dust as much. The improvement of the muzzle brake led to the request that all 76 mm guns be fitted with a muzzle brake. 76 mm Gun M1 retooled with a threaded end for the muzzle brake were designated the M1A1C, though production of muzzle brakes for these threads did not begin until July 1944, so the threads were covered by a thread protector until muzzle brakes were available. The next model of the 76 mm, the 76 mm Gun M1A2, featured more improvements. The rifling on the gun was tighter with one turn per 32 calibre rather than one turn per 40 calibre on previous models, which helped improve ballistics at longer ranges. Every M1A2 design also had a muzzle brake attached.

Combat usage

The first batch of 130 M4A1 (76) Shermans were sent to Britain on 10 April 1944, but despite their presence and even reports at the Italian Theater facing some of Germany's newer vehicles like the Panther, they were not sent to Normandy on the onset of D-Day. Major General Hugh Gaffey of the 2nd Armored Division advocated for this decision as there were only so few of them available, the troops were not properly trained on the new tank gun, and the logistic situation would be a mess to supply the new ammunition. As such, it was proposed by General W.B. Palmer that the 76 mm be delayed for tank battalions and only specified for such battalions rather than intermingling the 76 mm and 75 mm in mixed units. Either way, not one 76 mm Sherman landed in France in June 1944. Even attempts to interest the US Third Army on 12 June 1944 fell short as a report went "All of the commanders were reluctant to see it take the place of the 75 mm tank gun in any quantity". The reason for this desire to keep around with the 75 is the belief that the 75 mm could still do the job defeating enemy armour as the newer tanks, like the Tiger I since Tunisia, have been handled with the 75 mm cannon. Even the Panther were not taken seriously, not necessarily because it could be handled by the 75 mm, but because it was believed that Panther was a specialized heavy tank allocated in small numbers. It was not until Normandy that the U.S. fighting forces would experience first hand how numerous the Panthers were.

A M4A1 with a 76 mm gun tears through the bocage terrain in Normandy.

By June 1944 in Normandy, criticism from tankers on the ineffectiveness of the 75 mm on the new Panthers came to light. On July 2, Eisenhower relayed the complaints to Ordnance and in July 12, a board was created to determine what weapons were available that could defeat the Panther. The board determined after tests that none of the U.S. standard weapons could defeat the Panther from the front, and the 3-inch on the M10 could only do so on the gun mantlet from 200 yards outs. Suddenly, the 76 mm Shermans sitting idly at Britain became very sought out and General Bradley of 1st US Army ordered as many of the 76 mm Shermans be sent into France for Operation Cobra. 102 M4A1 (76) tanks arrived to France and became a key part of the operation, marking their debut of combat on 25 July 1944 , the second day of the operation. The success of the operation helped vindicate the relevance of the 76 mm Sherman and new 76 mm tank models on the M4 and the M4A3 soon arrived in September 1944. However, the 76 mm Shermans, now combat tested, ended up in another pitfall when they still proved ineffective against the Panther's front. Eisenhower, when hearing of the issue, remarked on the predicament:

You mean our 76 won't knock these Panthers out? Why, I thought it was going to be the wonder gun of the war. Why is it that I'm the last to hear about this stuff? Ordnance told me this 76 would take care of anything the Germans had. Now I find you can't knock out a damn thing with it. — General Dwight D. Eisenhower

In August 1944, an improved ammunition for the 76 mm started to come in, the T4 (M93) HVAP ammo. With its tungsten ammunition, it could penetrate the Panther on the mantlet up to 1,000 yards out. 2,000 of the new HVAP ammo arrived by air in August 1944. Though 20,000 were ordered, the supply was never able to keep up with the demand. By February 1945, the average 76 mm tank have received a total of five HVAP round, meaning an acquiring rate of one HVAP per month a tank. A total of 18,000 HVAP came to Europe by March 1945, with 42% of the total being for the 76 mm and the rest for the 3-inch gun.

A M18 Hellcat firing its 76 mm gun in Wiesloch, Germany.

The Battle of the Bulge turned a few heads for the 76 mm. Before that, German armour were only experienced in sporadic situations, with only minor counter-offensives at areas like the Battle of Arracourt. There were divided feelings about the 76 mm due to its decreased HE performance compared to the 75 mm, and that the 75 mm has specialized ammo like the white phosphorus round that the 76 did not have. Thus, proposals to completely replace the 75 with the 76 were met with objections. But after the Battle of the Bulge, the criticism changed to the inadequacy of the 75 mm against the German tanks like the Panther and the heavier Tiger II. 12th US Army Group on 29 January 1945 even requested that all US tanks that arrive in Europe be the 76 mm version, refusing anymore 75 mm Shermans.

The 76 mm faced more than a fair share of criticism throughout its life. Promised to give a bigger punch than the 75 mm, it fell short with changing times against improving German armour as it was design created with a mindset of German armour in 1942. Still, as a tank gun, the 76 mm did its job as best it could against the opposition, and was still overall a better gun in several respects that after the war, the 76 mm were retained on the M4A3E8 Sherman. In the 1950s in the Korean War, the 76 mm still proved adequate against the Soviet T-34-85 and no complaints were made on the Sherman's role as an infantry support during the latter stages of the war. Though, as the armament of the evolving U.S. tank force, the 76 mm Gun M1 was succeeded by the much bigger and better 90 mm that would be the armament of the M26 Pershing and its M46, M47, and M48 successors.

Media

Videos

Top 7 best rounds discusses the M62 at 3:41 - War Thunder Official Channel

See also

• M7 (76 mm) - 3-inch cannon that shares identical ballistic performance

External links

References

Citations

Bibliography

• Hunnicutt, R.P. Sherman: A History of the American Medium Tank U.S.A.: Feist Publications, 1978
• Hunnicutt, R.P. Pershing: A History of the Medium Tank T20 Series U.S.A.: Feist Publications, 1971
• Zaloga, Steven. M4 (76mm) Sherman Medium Tank 1943-65 Great Britain: Osprey Publishing Ltd., 2003
• Zaloga Steven. T-34-85 vs M26 Pershing: Korea 1950 Great Britain: Osprey Publishing Ltd., 2010

USA tank cannons
20 mm	M139
25 mm	LW25 · M242
37 mm	M3 · M5 · M6
57 mm	M1
75 mm	M2 · M2 Howitzer · M3 · M6 · M1897A4 · XM274
76 mm	M1 · M7 · M32 · T185E1
90 mm	M3 · M3A1 · M36 · M41 · M54 · T15E1 · T15E2 · T54 · T208E9
105 mm	M4 · M68 · M68A1 · M68A1E8 · T5E1 · T5E2 · T140E2 · T140E3 · XM35
106 mm	M40A1C
120 mm	M58 · M256 · T53
152 mm	M81 · M162 · XM150E5
155 mm	M185 · T7
165 mm	M135
	Foreign:
20 mm	Rh202 (Germany)
57 mm	6pdr OQF Mk.III (Britain) · ZIS-2 (USSR)
105 mm	Sharir (Israel)
120 mm	IMI MG251 (Israel)

Japan tank cannons
37 mm	Type 94 · Type 100 · Type 1
47 mm	Type 1
57 mm	Type 90 · Type 97
70 mm	Type 94
75 mm	Type 90 · Type 99 · Type 3 · Type 5 (Type I Model II · Type II Model I · Type II Model II)
90 mm	Type 61
105 mm	Type 5 (Experimental · Production) · JSW L/52
106 mm	Type 60 (B)
120 mm	Taishō Type 10 · Navy short gun · Type 90 L/44 · Type 10 L/44
150 mm	Type 38
155 mm	NSJ L/30 · JSW L/52
	Foreign:
25 mm	Oerlikon KBA B02 (Switzerland)
30 mm	Bushmaster 2 Mk.44 (USA)
35 mm	Oerlikon KDE (Switzerland)
75 mm	M6 (USA)
76 mm	M1 (USA) · M32 (USA)
88 mm	KwK36 (Germany)
90 mm	M3A1 (USA) · M36 (USA)
105 mm	L7A3 (Germany)
120 mm	Schneider-Canet 1898 (France)

China tank cannons
30 mm	ZPL02 · ZPZ02
73 mm	Type 86
76 mm	M32K1
85 mm	Type 56 · Type 63
100 mm	PTP86 · Type 59 · Type 69 · Type 69-II · ZPL04
105 mm	88B-105T · Type 83 · WMA301 · ZPL94 · ZPL98A
120 mm	122TM · PTZ89
125 mm	Type 88C · Type 99A · ZPT98
130 mm	PL59A Gai
152 mm	PL66 Gai
	Foreign:
20 mm	KwK30 (Germany)
37 mm	M6 (USA)
45 mm	20-K (USSR)
47 mm	Type 1 (Japan)
57 mm	Type 97 (Japan) · ZIS-2 (USSR)
75 mm	M2 Howitzer (USA) · M3 (USA) · M6 (USA)
76 mm	D-56T (USSR) · F-34 (USSR) · M1 (USA) · M7 (USA) · ZIS-3 (USSR)
85 mm	ZIS-S-53 (USSR)
90 mm	M3 (USA) · M41 (USA)
100 mm	D-10S (USSR)
105 mm	M68 (USA) · M68A1 (USA)
115 mm	U-5TS (USSR)
122 mm	A-19 (USSR) · D-25T (USSR)
152 mm	ML-20S (USSR)

Italy tank cannons
20 mm	Breda Mod.35 · Fucile Controcarri S Mod.39
25 mm	Oerlikon KBA B02
37 mm	Vickers-Terni 37/40 mod.18
47 mm	47/32 mod.35 · 47/32 mod.39 · 47/40 mod.38
60 mm	Cannone da 60/70 · OTO HVG
75 mm	75/18 mod.34 · 75/32 mod.37 · 75/34 mod.39 · Ansaldo 75 L/34 · OTO 75/43 mod.40
90 mm	90/53 mod.41 · Cannone da 90/50 M3A1 · Cockerill Mk.3
100 mm	Cannone da 100/17 Mod.1914
105 mm	Cannone Ansaldo da 105/25 · OTO Melara 105/52 · OTO Melara 105/55
106 mm	Cannone da 106 s.r.M40A1
120 mm	OTO Breda 120/44 · OTO Melara 120/45
	Foreign:
30 mm	Bushmaster 2 Mk.44 (USA)
37 mm	M6 (USA)
75 mm	KwK37 (Germany) · KwK40 L48 (Germany) · M3 (USA) · M6 (USA) · StuK40 L48 (Germany)
76 mm	M1 (USA) · QF 17-pounder (Britain)
90 mm	M3 (USA)
105 mm	L7A3 (Germany) · M68 (USA)
155 mm	M126 (USA)
	Hungary
20 mm	Solothurn QF.36M
40 mm	37/42M · MÁVAG 41.M 40/51
75 mm	41.M · 43.M
105 mm	MÁVAG 40/43M
	Foreign:
30 mm	2A72 (USSR) · MK 30-2/ABM (Germany)
88 mm	KwK36 (Germany)
120 mm	Rh120 L/44 (Germany) · Rh120 L/55 A1 (Germany)
122 mm	2A31 (USSR)
125 mm	2A46 (USSR)